Fender shield



. 14,. 1943. A. P. FERGUEsoN FENDER SHIELD 2 Sheets-Sheet l OriginalFiled Aug. 25, 1938 Il lli lll rllllllirllllllllllil Dec. 14, 1943 A P.FERGUESON 2,336,536

FENDER` SHIELD Original Filed Aug. 25, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aer/fa@ f?5x96 Urso/v.

Patented Dec. 14, 1943 FENDER SHIELD Arthur P. Fergueson, Detroit,Mich., assignor to Houdaille-Hershey7 Corporation, Detroit, Mich., acorporation of Michigan Original application August 25, 1938, Serial No.226,649. Divided and this application May 27, 1940, Serial No. 337,337

('Cl. 28o-153) Claims.

This invention relates to fender shields and fender shieldconstructions, and more particularly to a novel fender shield withreinforcing means on the rear face thereof.

This application is a division of my copending application entitledConcealed lever-operated fender shield latch, Serial 226,649, filedAugust 25, 1938, now issued as United States Letters Patent No,2,224,428, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.

In designing fender shields of the type which are adapted to cover theusual wheel access opening in a vehicle fender, it is important that themeans which is employed to secure the fender shield in desired positionbe simple and quick to operate both in the assembly of the fender shieldon the vehicle fender and in removing it therefrom. The fender shieldconstruction, as well as the latch mechanism, must possess the desireddegree of ruggedness when in use to be substantially free from vibrationand noise. Since the principal panel portion of fender shields isusually formed of sheet metal stock, it is also important that theshield be structurally designed to reduce possibility of damage ordisforming to a minimum.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel fender shield andfender shield latching mechanism which possesses the above highlydesirable characteristics.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved fendershield and fender Shield latch which is economical to manufacture, andwhich is rugged and reliable in use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel concealedlever-operated fender shield latch. Another and further object of thisinvention is to provide a novel means for retaining the vfender-engagingedge portion of a fender shield in desired position on a vehicle fender.

Another and still further object of this invention is to provide a novelcombination latching and disengaging means on a fender shield.

A still further object of this invention is to provide novel means foreifectinga disengagement of a fender shield from a vehicle fender afterit has been mounted thereon.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel fendershield construction having reinforcing means on therear face thereof.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel fendershield construction having an upright strut or stay extending across therear face of the fender shield.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel fendershield construction having a reinforcing strut on the rear face thereof,upon which the latch mechanism is mounted and supported.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my inventionare Set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My inventionitself, however, both as to its organization and manner of construction,together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best beunderstood by reference to the following description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the lower rear part of anautomobile having the usual vform of vehicle fender and equipped with afender shield constructed in accordance with the teachings of thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the fender Yshield and fendershield latching mechanism;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional elevational View of the fender shieldtaken along the line III--III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view of the lower end of the lever-operatedlatch showing the manner in which it engages the lower portion of thefender shield;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary rear View of the upper portion of the fendershield in a disengaged position from the vehicle fender;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of Figure5;

Figure '7 is a cross-sectional view of the fenderengaging edge of thefender shield and the underturned opening defining edge of the fendertaken along the line VII- VII of Figure 2; and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View similar to the upperportion of Figure 3 showing a modified form'of my invention.

In Figure 1 of the drawings, I have illustrated a fender shield I0constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present inventionand assembled on a rear fender Il of an automobile I2. 'Ihe fender Il isformed with the usual opening I3, which affords access to the vehiclewheel L4 and which permits ready removal of the wheel Illv in an axialdirection. The fender shield l0 is disposed over the opening I3 in sucha manner as to substantially close the opening and to harmonize with theouter side wall of the fender l I'. The outer surface of the shield l0,may, of course, be substantially smooth, as is illustrated in thedrawings, or it may assume any desired conguration for the purpose ofornamentation.

ment with the fender II.

As shown in Figure 2, the outer marginal edge of the fender II whichdefines the opening I3 is underturned, as at I5, while the outermarginal edges which dene the base of the fender are underturned as atI6. As is well known to those skilled in the art, fenders of the highcrown type are generally provided with these underturned edge portionsto increase the rigidity of the fender. vantage is taken of this featureto assemble and secure the fender shield to the vehicle fender over theopening in the latter.

In order to provide a suitable support for the ornamental fender shieldI0, a bar I'I of some suitable resilient or semi-resilient material,such v for example as spring steel, is secured to the underturned bottomedge I8 of the fender shield II) in any convenient manner, such as byrivets I9, it being important only that the outer ends of the bar I1 befree to flex.

The bar Il is so dimensioned as to extend beyond either end of thefender shield I to form trunnion members 2D which are adapted to besupported by the underturned edges I6 of the fender II. The particularconfiguration of the trunnion members 2i! may, of course, vary throughwide limits without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention, it being only necessary to shape the ends of thek bar I1 sothat they will extend around the underturned corners 2I of the fender IIand then downwardly into engagement with the channels formed by theunderturned edges I5. As will presently be understood, the trunnionmembers 25 form a convenient support for the fender shield I0, whichpermits the fender shield Ill to be rocked into and out of desiredposition on the vehicle fender II.

While the trunnicn members support the fender shield IIJ, it will beobserved that it is necessary to provide some means which willsubstantially hold the curved edge 22 of the shield Ill rmly against thefender II. One form of fastening means which has been found highlydesirable is to provide a rearwardly extending flange 23 on the shieldI0 in proximity to the curved edge 22 having a plurality of humpedresilient fingers or fastening portions 24. The intermediate portion 25(see Figure 7) of the flange 23 is preferably shaped to assumeapproximately the same curvature as that of the underturned edge I5 ofthe fender I I, while the humped portions 26 of the fingers or portions24 are arranged to bear against the rear face 52 of the underturned edgeI5. It will thus be apparent that as the fender shield I!! is rockedinto desired position about the trunnion members or supporting arms 20,the fingers 24 are cammed under the underturned edge I5 of the fenderII. As the humped portions 26 of the fingers 24 pass beneath thelowermost point of the underturned edge I5, the fingers 24 snap upagainst the rear surface 52 to hold the fender shield l0 in engage- Aswill presently be explained, however, this securing engagement isaugmented by a novel clamping mechanism which greatly improves theclamping and latching engagement of the fender shield on the vehiclefender and which renders the entire assembly more rugged and less apt tobe accidentally disengaged from the fender II.

A cushioning ring 28 of rubber or other suitable material may bedisposed in the channel formed by the intermediate portion 25 of the Aswill presently be explained, ad-Y flange 23 to prevent a directmetal-to-metal contact of this ange with the vehicle fender II.

In order to augment the securing engagement provided by the fasteningfingers 24, a novel concealed lever-operated fender shield latchmechanism is provided.

Turning now to the various figures of the drawings, and particularly toFigures 2 and 3, this Y novel latch mechanism is shown as an arrowshapelatch plate 29 which is pivotally mounted on the fender skirt as at 30,and which is operated by a concealed operating lever 3|. The arrow-shapelatch plate 29 includes two wing portions 32 and 33 which compriselatching and disengaging portions respectively, as will presently bedescribed.

The concealed operating lever 3I is welded or otherwise suitably securedto the rear face of the latch plate 29 and is arranged to extend acrossthe rear face of the fender shield I0. As may be seen best in Figure 2,the lever 3l is of such length that when the shield ID is in its mountedposition, the lower end 34 of the lever is resting on the cross bar l1(see Figure 4); while in an intermediate position, the lower end 34 isdisposed below the lower end of the fender shield I0 (see Figure 2).

The latch plate 29 is mounted on and supported by an upright bracket,strut or stay 35 which extends across the back of the fender shield I0.The lower end of the bracket 35 is turned rearwardly, as at 36 and isriveted or otherwise suitably secured to the cross bar I'I and theinturned flange I8 of the fender shield Ill, such as at 31. Theintermediate body portion 33 of the bracket 35 is preferably providedwith a pressed-out 1ongitudinally extending rib 33 to stiffen thisportion of the bracket. The upper portion of the bracket 35 is bentrearwardly away from the rear face of the fender shield IB as at 39,then upwardly in substantially a vertical plane, as at 40, and thenobliquely upwardly and forwardly, as at 4I. The tip of the bracket 42extends up into the folded area 43 of the circular edge 22 of the fendershield I0. The tip 42 may be spot-welded or otherwise suitably securedto the rear face of the fender shield ID if desired.

As will at once be apparent to those skilled in the art,the bracket,strut or stay 35 greatly reinforces the fender shield I!) and enablesthe use of relatively thin sheet metal stock.

The upper portion 40 of the bracket 35 is apertured for the reception ofthe latch-plate mounting bolt 44. Preferably, a tang or tab 45 isstruckout from the bracket 35 adjacent the bolt so as to extend over andbear against one of the fiat faces 46 of the head of the bolt 44 toprevent the same from turning in its mounting.

The latch plate 22 is mounted on and carried by., the latch platemounting bolt- 44, the shank of the bolt 44 being arranged to extendthrough suitable apertures in the latch plate 29 and the concealedoperating lever 3l, as at 41. The latch plate 29 is secured in desiredposition by means of a washer 48 and a nut 49, the latter being arrangedto be screwed on the threaded end of the bolt 44. It is to be understoodthat this latch plate mounting is of such a character that either wingportion 32 or wing portion 33 may be rotated into a vertical position,as is shown in Figures 2 and 5 respectively.

The particular shape of the latch plate 29 and the manner in which itcarries out its latching and disengaging functions will now bedescribed. More particularly,- the wing portion 32 of the arrow-shapelatch plate 29 is shaped and arranged to provide a positive latchingengagement between the fender shield I and the fender II, and the wingportion 33 of the latch plate 29 is shaped and,i arranged to provide amember for disengaging the fender shield IU from the fender II.

The particular shape of wing portion 32 of latch plate 29 may best beseen in Figure 3 of the drawings. More specically, wing portion 32 isbent obliquely rearwardly and upwardly, as at 50, so as to extend behindthe underturned edge I of the fender I I. It is terminated in a tipportion 5|, the surface of which is substantially parallel to thesurface of the marginal edge portion 52 of the underturned edge I5. Thetip portion 5I is preferably arranged to be disposed in slightly spacedrelationship with respect to the surface 52 of the underturned edge I5when in mounted engagement. That is to say, under normal conditions, thefingers 24, which are disposed around the peripheral edge 22 of thefender shield I0, provide the securing engagement which prevents lateraldisplacement of the fender shield I0 with respect to the fender II. Thewing portion 32 of the latch plate 29, however, acts to preventaccidental falling out of the fender shield I0 due to sudden jars ordistortions of the fender I I while the car or vehicle is traveling overrough surfaces. It is to be understood, however, that the tip portion 5Iof the latch plate 29 may be arranged to directly abut the surface 52 ofthe underturned edge I5 so as to directly assist the attaching lingers24 in retaining the fender shield I0 on the fender.

The disengaging wing portion 33 of the latch plate 29 is shaped quitedifferently from the latching wing portion 32, as may be seen from aninspection of Figure 6 of the drawings. More speciiically, the wingportion 33 includes an intermediate portion 53 which is bent obliquelyrearwardly and upwardly and then terminates in a tip portion 54 which isbent obliquely forwardly and upwardly. The tip portion 54 is spaced atsuch a distance from the mounting bolt 44 that when the wing portion 33is in a vertical position, as is shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, thetip portion 54 extends above the underturned edge I5 of the fender I I.The left hand side of the tip portion 54 when viewing the constructionas in Figure 5 of the drawings, is rounded over in a gradually curvedsurface as at 55. The curved surface 55 and the principal surface of thetip portion 54 are arranged and designed to provide a cam which willengage the underturned marginal edge l5 when the latch plate 29 isrotated in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figures 2 and 5 ofthe drawings and to force the entire fender shield I0 downwardly andoutwardly against the resilient action of the trunnion bars 20 topositively dislodge the fender shield Ill from the fender II. Due to thefact that the upper surface of the tip portion 54 is disposed at anangle which extends rearwardly and downwardly away from the fendershield I9, it will be clear that in addition to forcing the fendershield I0 downwardly as the latch plate 29 is rotated in a.counter-clockwise direction, it will also push the upper portion of thefender shield Ill outwardly away from the fender I I.

In Figure 8 I have illustrated a modified form of my invention whereinthe wing portion 32 of the latch plate 29 is arranged to directly engagethe surface 52 of the underturned edge I5 of the fender II.

In this form of my invention, the

latching engagement provided by the tip portion 5I of the latch plate 29directly and at all times augments the latching engagement provided bythe ngers 24. The rest of the fender shield and the fender shieldlatching and disengaging mechanism is the same as that described inconnection with Figures 1 to 7 of the drawings.

To assemble a fender shield of either of the forms hereinabovedescribed, it is simply necessary to bring the fender shield I0 into aposition opposite the opening I3 in the fender II and then hook thetrunnion members 29 into the underturned base edges I6 of the fender II.Then with the operating lever 3I disposed in a vertical position as isshown by the dotted lines in Figure 2, the fender shield I0 is rocked orshoved into position on the fender II. As the fender shield Ill isrocked into position, the fingers 24 are cammed under the underturnededge I5 of the fender II whereupon they snap up behind the underturnededge I5 to detachably retain the fender shield on the fender II. Theperson mounting the fender shield I0 on the fender II then reachesbehind the fender shield I0, grasps the operating lever 3l, and rotatesit until the latching wing portion 32 of the latch plate 29 is rotatedto a position such as is shown by the full lines in Figure 2. Since thewing portion 32 is designed and arranged to extend in a verticaldirection when the lower end 34 of the operating lever 3l is resting onthe cross bar I1, it is simply necessary for the operator to angularlymove the operating lever 3l until he can snap it over the cross bar I'I.Due to the fact that the lower end of the operating lever 3| is bentforwardly and then downwardly, as is shown in Figure 4, it is clear thatit will be necessary to slightly pull the lower end of the operatinglever outwardly in order to permit it to pass over the inturned edge I8and the cross bar I'I at the lower edge of the fender shield I9. Theoperating lever 3 I is preferably designed so that when it is disposedwith the lower end 34 on the cross bar I'I it presses with a slightforce against the rear face of the fender shield I0. This serves toirmly hold the operating lever 3l in desired position and also preventsany rattling or noise at this point.

To dislodge the fender shield I9 from the fender I I, the operatorreaches behind the fender shield I0, grasps the operating lever 3| androtates it through approximately or in other words to a positionapproximately 45 to the other side of the vertical. As the operatinglever 3| is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed inFigures 2 and 5 of the drawings, the tip portion 54 of the latch plate29 moves up against the underturned edge I5 and forces the fender shielddownwardly and the upper edge of the fender shield outwardly. Just afterthe curved edge 22 of the fender shield I is freed from itsinterengaging connection with the edge I5 of fender II by the portion 54of the latch plate 29, the elements of the assembly are in the positionshown in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings. As the upper edge of thefender shield I Il falls away from the fender II, the fender shield isgrasped and lifted away from the fender I I, the trunnion members 29being disengaged at this time.

From the above description, it will be apparent that I have provided anextraordinary simple means for supporting and securing an ornamentalfender skirt to a vehicle fender. It will also be apparent that I haveprovided an equally simple means for disengaging a fender shield mountedin this manner. Furthermore, my arrangement provides a positive latchand disengaging means which is operated by mechanisms wholly concealedduring the time the fender shield is mounted on the vehicle. Thisprovision of a concealed operating mechanism `as will readilybe'apparent to those skilled in the art greatly enhances the appearancesof the fender shield and of the vehicle as a whole.

It will also be apparent from the above description that I have providedan extremely effective fender shield construction having novelreinforcing means thereon which enables the use of relatively thin sheetmetal material in forming 'the principal panel or body portion of theshield. The novel reinforcing means has the dual function of, first,reinforcing the fender shield and, second, of providing a convenientmounting for the latch mechanism which detachably secures vthe fendershield to the fender.

As the term fender shield is employed herein, it refers to any memberwhich is adapted to be secured to a fender or other portion of a vehiclebody for the purpose of covering the opening in the fender or vehiclebody which is provided for access to or removal of a vehicle wheel.Furthermore, as the term fender is used and employed herein, it refersto any form of wheel fender in its broad sense, whether such fender beseparate from the vehicle body part, partially separate from the vehiclebody, or actually an integral part of the vehicle body, and whether ornot it projects outwardly away from the principal body portion of thevehicle or not.

Although I have shown particular embodiments of my invention it will, ofcourse, be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto,

since many modications may be made, and I therefore contemplate by theappended claims to -cover all such modications as fall within the truespirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A fender shield comprising a sheet metal panel having an inturnedbase flange and a turned-back fender-engaging marginal portion, and abracket extending upwardly from said base iiange across the rear face ofsaid panel into engagement with and under said marginal portion, saidbracket being substantially rigidly secured to said base flange and tosaid panel in proximity to said marginal portion, whereby said panel isreinforced and stifened by said bracket.

2. A fender shield comprising a sheet metal panel having an inturnedbase ange and a turned-back fender-engaging marginal portion, and astrut extending upwardly from said base ilange across the rear face ofsai panel into engagement with said marginal portion, said strut beingsubstantially permanently secured to said base flange and being clampedat its upper end between said marginal portion and said panel portion.

3. A fender shield comprising a sheet metal panel having an inturnedbase flange and a folded-back curved edge, and a sheet metal reinforcingmember extending across the rear face of said panel between saidinturned base ilange and said curved edge, the lower end of said strutbeing inturned and secured to said base iiange and the upper end of saidstrut being clamped between said folded-back curved edge and said panel.

4. A fender shield comprising a sheet meta panel having an inturned baseflange and a folded-back curved edge, and a sheet metal reinforcingmember extending across the rear face of said panelbetween said inturnedbase ilange and said curved edge, the lower end of said strut beinginturned and secured to said base flange and the upper end of said strutbeing clamped between said folded-back curved edge and said panel, anintermediate portion of said strut having a pressed-up longitudinallyextending stiftening rib, and a second intermediate portion of saidstrut having movable fender-engaging latch mechanism mounted thereon andcarried thereby.

5. A fender shield comprising a sheet metal panel having a lower edgeand a fender engaging edge, a strut extending from said lower edge tothe tcp of said shield and securedthereto, an intermediate portion ofsaid strut being spaced from said shield, the under side of saidintermediate portion oi said strut being readily accessible, latchingmechanism on said shield including an operating arm, and means forpivotally mounting said arm on said intermediate portion of said strutincluding a removable stud extending through said intermediate portionand having a head on the under side of said intermediate portion, andmeans on said strut engageable with said head for holding said studagainst rotation.

ARTHUR P. FERGUESON.

